"Now You Know"

“Himnusz” (English: Hymn) is a musical prayer that serves as the official Hungarian National Anthem. It was adopted in 1844 and the first verse is sung at state ceremonies and played at international sporting events. The words of the Hungarian anthem are different from most others in that they express a direct plea to God [more…]

“Dabrowski’s Mazurka”) is the national anthem of Poland. It is often known as “Poland Is Not Yet Lost,” or “Song of the Polish Legions in Italy.” It is a lively mazurka with lyrics written by Jozef Wybicki in Reggio nell’Emilia, Cisalpine Republic (now in Italy), in July 1797. This was two years after the Third [more…]

The Russian National Anthem is an adaptation of the anthem of the former Soviet Union. The new version removes any mention of Lenin’s ideas and the “unbreakable union” of the Soviet state. It now focuses on a country that is vast in area and rich in resources. After the removal of the Tsar and his [more…]

The National Anthem of the United States is “The Star Spangled Banner.” The lyrics are from a poem written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by Royal Navy ships during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key never meant for it to become a song, [more…]

La Marcha Real (“The Royal March”) is Spain’s National Anehem and one of the few national anthems which have no official lyrics. But things are changing. The Spanish national anthem was written in 1761 by an unknown composer and only had lyrics during the reign of King Alfonso XIII and when Franco was in power. [more…]

The Anthem of the European Union is ‘Ode to Joy’ (German original title: “Ode an die Freude”) and is referred to by both the European Union and the Council of Europe, as simply the ‘European Anthem.’ The member nations of the European Union are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, [more…]

Das Deutschlandlied (The Song of Germany), has been used as the national anthem of Germany since 1922. It is mostly known by the opening words of the first stanza, “Deutschland über alles” (Germany above all), but this has never been its title. In 1841, when August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the poem, it was [more…]

La Marseillaise is the National Anthem of France. “La Marseillaise” was written and composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, captain in the Engineering corps garrisoned in Strasbourg during the night of 24 to 25 April 1792 at the behest of the city’s mayor, Baron de Dietrich. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, “La Marseillaise” [more…]

“God Save the Queen”, or “God Save the King”, is the National Anthem of the United Kingdom. It is also the National Anthem of Norfolk Island, one of the two National Anthems of the Cayman Islands and New Zealand (since 1977) and the Royal Anthem of Canada (since 1980), Australia (since 1984), the Isle of [more…]

The name of the National Anthem of South Africa is “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.” The words and music of ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’ (‘God Bless Africa’) were composed as a hymn by Enoch Mankayi Sontonga in 1897 along with Samuel Edward Krune Mqhayi. ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’ was sung publicly for the first time in 1899. It steadily [more…]